Frost Thawing
by Zizi - Whiteflower
Summary: Frost is NOT ready to save the world. She is NOT a hero. How will she ever stop Queen Ghostcatcher from rising to power? Even with her 'friends', she doesn't know how on earth she'll succeed. What's going to happen after? Will she be kicked out of her own tribe? (on hold)
1. Prologue

**BOOM! New story! This is the idea I was working on. Welcome to _Frost Thawing_. The prologue explains what happens to Princess Leopard of the IceWings. If you really want to get why the prologue is even there, you'll have to read the next chapter (I'm sorry). Please don't post any negative comments, just suggestions and constructive ****criticism, please. Positive comments are also highly appreciated. Enjoy!**

Prologue:

Leopard hurried through the palace halls. She stumbled occasionally, breathing heavily. _Quick! I need to get to the arena!_ Queen Ghostcatcher was visiting her mother, and she wasn't about to miss the dramatic entrance. Why did she really care about the queen of NightWings? Leopard sighed and flung herself around a corner, still sprinting. _I am just worried about_ my _queen, Queen Fox, also known as Mother._ Leopard still found it hard to believe that she was a possible heir to the throne. How can some little pipsqueak like her _ever_ challenge Queen Fox? Then again, she does have a sister. Frost seemed worthy of the throne. Strong, brave, smart; almost everything Leopard was not. Immersed in her thoughts, she narrowly dodged a block of ice. Suddenly, two voices floated into earshot. Leopard quickly ducked behind the door, afraid of guards spotting her. Peering around the hall, she saw her mother and Queen Ghostcatcher on two iced thrones, eating and casually chatting away like old friends. That wasn't the strange part. On Queen Fox's other side, the dragonet stiffly sitting there made Leopard push down a gasp of horror.

Frost, her sister, was perched upon the throne, glaring defiantly at the queen of NightWings. Thank goodness Queen Ghostcatcher was busy chatting to notice. Abruptly, Frost's gaze flickered towards Leopard's general direction. Leopard ducked her head, hoping with all her might that nobody saw her. Peeking out carefully, she saw that Frost had her focus on food now. Leopard still couldn't catch a word being said. She needed to be a bit closer. Eyes glancing around for any good hiding spots, she spotted a box a few meters away from the queens. If she was fast enough, she could dart behind it just in time. On the other claw, that would be a bad idea because she was probably going to get noticed. Nope, her curiosity took over and Leopard expertly bounded as fast as she could towards the box, and then carefully crouching as low as she could, making sure she tucked in her tail and all. Although there was already a high possibility that someone had spotted her – one of the NightWing guards, perhaps – it was worth it. Leopard could now make out almost everything they were saying.

"Why would I ever want to do that? It is completely against the law, and seeing that there are currently no heirs to the throne, I must maintain my reputation as queen." Queen Ghostcatcher sniffed daintily, offhandedly reaching forward for another share of rabbit. Leopard quickly blinked herself into reality. What does Mother think that the other queen could do?

"Of course, that is fairly reasonable. How is the prey running in the rainforest? Do the RainWings give you enough privacy? Oh, those lazy creatures still disgust me." Leopard gasped. How could Mother speak of RainWings like that? She lashed her tail angrily. _I thought we were at peace nowadays!_

"Ha, that tribe is probably too lazy to even move a claw into our territory!" Queen Ghostcatcher snorted at her own joke, and both of them cracked up. Frost stayed silent, now glaring at both of the leaders. Leopard knew exactly how she felt. Frost probably wanted to tear Mother's scales off by that point.

Leopard would do the same, except she was too scared of what her queen would look like without scales. The very thought gave her shivers. Caught in her thoughts, she didn't notice that Queen Ghostcatcher had already started to get off her throne. The scraping of claws against ice brought her back to reality. Seeing that Mother and Frost were about to turn her way, Leopard shot into the air as fast as she could and flew right over Queen Ghostcatcher's head. As she did, she felt her heart stop cold as ice.

"Tomorrow, I say we start the execution of the princess."

 **Leopard dies, by the way. Not Frost. The plot is not very well explained, so read on to find out more!**


	2. Chapter 1: Traitors

**Okay, first things first. This book was originally written to part of series. There was SUPPOSED to a backstory, but there ISN'T, so I'll just write it here. Frost, Amber, Hibiscus, Eel, and Skygazer are best friends, who met through the Talons of Peace. Eel and Skygazer were raised there; Frost and Amber were raised as princesses; and Hibiscus was raised as a regular RainWing. How exactly they met is unknown. So after they met, Queen Ghostcatcher of the Nightwings launched a massive attack on the IceWings, and Frost's sister Leopard was killed during this battle. Since then, the five dragonets had been assigned a mission, from the leader of the Talons of Peace - Thunder, a SkyWing. They were to recruit IceWings to join the Talons of Peace, and to help battle against Ghostcatcher. Thunder granted them one animus-touched bracelet from the Gift of Diplomacy, allowing them all to cross safely across the Great Ice Cliff.**

Chapter 1:

Frost soared broadly in the open sky. Feeling the cold wind rush under her wings made her joyful from nose to tail-tip. Below her, the snowy landscape was a blur. All of sudden, she missed Leopard desperately. _I hope Thunder knew what he was doing,_ Frost thought bitterly.

"Hey, Frost! Are we going to descend or what?" Amber's sharp voice cut through her painful daydreams. Tilting her head, she saw the orange SkyWing sailing a bit lower, with Eel beside her. Hibiscus is probably flying there as well. Frost spotted the faint outline of a wing against the dark green surface of the pine tree.

"She'll descend soon enough. We're all freezing up here. I really can't feel my scales." Skygazer called from ahead. He swooped lower and landed beside Amber, shying away from Frost. Frost blinked. Her friends never really talked to her, not since Queen Ghostcatcher had sliced her claws through Leopard's tiny throat and killed Frost's only sister. Everyone felt bad for her, especially Sky. Being born on a night with one moon, he was one of the special NightWings that had the ability to tell different futures. Seeing that Leopard may one day get killed, he deliberately refused to tell Frost anything, not on the threat hanging above his head. The fact that Queen Ghostcatcher was threatening to banish his entire family still gave Frost shivers. Frost had hardly forgiven him at that time, but frankly, she still felt a little sympathetic. Shaking her head, she brought herself back into reality. Diving lower to land, she flicked her tail to call the others after flaring her wings to position herself upon a pile of snow.

"Oh my THREE MOONS, this place is absolutely GORGEOUS! Wait, Frost, are you sure this is a good place to land? Like, there are guards EVERYWHERE." A familiar shade of lavender emerged from the air beside Frost. Amber landed right behind her, with Sky and Eel on her either side. Frost shifted her attention to their crowd. There were a dozen – no, two dozen – IceWings either flying, hunting, or playing in the tundra below her. Frost took a deep breath. _Find your brother. Find Blizzard now._ Frost couldn't see the IceWing general in the midst of moving dragons. An idea popped into her head.

"I think," She suggested slowly, "That if I go ask really politely, perhaps they will allow you guys in? I am their princess after all." Frost knew she sounded stupid, but was there really a better plan?

"HA! You think that if we go down there and _coo_ at the guards, they'll let us in without even informing the general?" Eel snorted, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"Eel, three moons, Frost's _brother_ is the general." Hibiscus gave the light blue SeaWing a friendly shove. Eel shuffled around, embarrassed. Frost hardly _ever_ sees Eel like that.

"I suppose that may work, excluding the fact that I am going to get _dragged_ to queen, with freakishly cold claws." Amber lashed her tail. Frost couldn't help but giggle.

"I'll specify that, don't worry." Taking off, the IceWing princess noticed a few changes to the palace. A few more towers, perhaps. Mother must be feeling creative, Frost mused as she landed near the guards at the front gates.

"Princess Frost, you have my warmest greetings." One of the guards bowed so low that his wingtips brushed the snow. Frost had never been shown such respect. She shifted, embarrassed. "Do you have business with your brother?"

"Yes, but unfortunately, there is an exception, so are you willing to accept?" Frost said nervously. She tried to lift her head higher, looking as regal as possible. The guards seemed to get the idea.

"We serve the only the lineage of Queen Fox, and nobody else." Frost gulped. She started to hope that this wouldn't bring her rank down even more. _I'm already close to Fifth Circle; no way am I going there!_

"You'll have to take my friends along. And one of them is a NightWing." Frost's claws trembled at the sight of the guard's bewildered looks. She looked behind her shoulder and spotted Amber orange scales poking out of the snow. She mouthed something that Frost couldn't make out. The SkyWing then moved her wings in a shrugging motion and disappeared with a flick of her tail.

"Uh, we'll allow it, but I truly doubt that General Blizzard would approve." The guards looked queasy. Frost breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned to her friends.

"Wow! This palace is even bigger than I thought it would be!" Hibiscus propped herself down beside Eel, looking up at the huge building towering above her.

"Frost! Thank the moons, you're back! My little sister is back!" A new voice emerged from afar. All the dragonets looked its way. Blizzard was rushing over with his wings spread. When he came close enough, he wrapped Frost in a gigantic hug.

It felt nice and cold in her brother's wings. She admitted to herself that she had somewhat missed the Ice Kingdom, despite her mother and Leopard's death. Finally pulling away, Blizzard took a good look at every single one of the dragonets. His gaze rested on Sky. Frost inhaled sharply. "Take this NightWing away from my sister!" The IceWing general snarled. His then turned his snout to face Frost. "How dare you conspire with a NightWing! I'm afraid, Frost, that your rank is going to plunge even lower after this." Frost was too busy shouting at the guards to notice.

"No, please, no! Sky's a friend! He didn't hurt anyone!" she screeched, clawing furiously at the guards. It was too late. They had already slipped shackles onto the frightened NightWing and flew out of reach.

Frost stared at empty air for a moment, before whirling around the scowl at her brother. To her relief, she wasn't the only one angry. Hibiscus had turned into a shade of blood red, Amber was bristling, and Eel was baring his teeth, all of them growling. Frost then turned on Blizzard. "How could you do that to him? He isn't the enemy!" she exploded, thoughts immediately turning to Queen Ghostcatcher. _Nobody treats my friends like that!_

"Are you sure, Frost? He betrayed you and let our sister die! What I don't get is that you're still hanging around him like old friends!" Blizzard hissed back. His wings were spread to their full size now. Behind Frost, Eel furiously scraped the ground with his talons. _Eel is probably even madder than I am,_ Frost thought sympathetically. _Raised together with the Talons of Peace really meant something._ She lashed her whip-thin tail.

"I come back home and I get treated like prisoners? If you're not going to take me to Mother without some kind of dumb interference, then I'll go by myself, and you're not going to stop me!" Frost spat, shooting into the sky. Not waiting for a response, she sped away, not caring if anyone followed. Her head was now jammed with angry thoughts about her stubborn brother. Trying to shrug it off, Frost tilted her wings and headed towards the right side of the castle, where the royalty and top ranking dragons sleep.

Guards were posted at the front of the queen's cambers, but she flew in easily. When Frost got her first look at the look at the castle, her mind cleared.

The once beautiful hallways were now covered in frozen, jagged peaks of ice. There were deep claw marks carved into the walls, as if the palace had been attacked. Frost gazed at the mess silently, jaw gaping. _Did Mother do all this? Does she_ still _grieve for Leopard?_ These thoughts made her sprint faster. Skidding along the icy hallways, she listened for any sounds of screaming. Fortunately not, but she did hear Queen Fox moaning and groaning further down the corridor. Pushing herself, Frost finally burst into the throne triumphantly.

Mother sat on her throne, looking extremely gloomy. When she saw Frost step in, she brightened a bit. Her eyes were bloodshot from weeping, but she stood to her full majestic height and beamed down at Frost.

"My darling Frost has returned to the Ice Kingdom! How have you been, my dragonet? Oh, look how big you've gotten!" Queen Fox wrapped her wings around her remaining daughter and drew her in for a huge hug. Frost smiled against her mother's scales. When Queen Fox pulled away, she was still grinning. "Let us throw a banquet in your honor! Polar, prepare the grand hall for this!" Frost would have loved to see a _banquet_ thrown in her name, but she was there for important matters.

"Mother, I need to ask you something. All we know right now is that Queen Ghostcatcher is planning to take the RainWings' territory, but have you heard of anything else from her?" Queen Fox scratched her snout in thought. Behind her, Polar was scuttling around, trying to gather dragons to help him.

"Well, I have heard that Ghostcatcher has an animus on her side, but rumors are rumors. Let us feast tonight, my dragonet. Save the worries for tomorrow."

Queen Fox clapped her claws together and an unfamiliar IceWing rushed into the throne room. Frost didn't even know where she came from. She was a dragonet about her age, but she had battle scars and looked really aggressive. Frost shuddered a bit. "Shiver, this is Princess Frost. You can take her to the training grounds and let her explore. And Polar, I would like-"

"Every dragon, stop what you are doing right now!" The doors of the throne room burst open and Blizzard flooded in with a few guards at his tail. Frost fumed, but turned to see her mother's reaction. The queen's expression had turned from warm to cold. Her eyes were stone and they followed Blizzard's every little movement.

"Prince Blizzard, may I ask, what is so important you interrupt my reunion with family?" Queen Fox said frigidly.

Shiver's face was unreadable, so Frost snapped her attention back to Blizzard, who was now slowly ascending towards her.

"Because that traitor," He spat, pointing a trembling claw at Frost. "Is not part of our family at all!" Frost felt the whole room gasp and heard a few soft growls. Shiver was flexing her claws in amusement, which worried Frost a bit. Queen Fox looked curious, but remained silent. "She was travelling with a NightWing!" This time, Frost felt Shiver's scowl rest on her wingtips. The room was completely silent now. "Here he is. Look at who she was talking to! Look at who your precious princess is!" The guards shoved Sky to the queen's feet. He was bound in ropes and he was muffled with more. The look in his eyes brought Frost true pain. However, she was fully aware of Mother flaring her wings and bristling, outraged.

"I know you." Queen Fox teeth were bared and Shiver was snarling now, both lashing their tails. "You betrayed Frost and let Leopard die!" Every dragon in the room retreated a few steps at the queen's shouting tone. The tall, majestic IceWing queen paced around Sky and poked him with her spiked tail. Frost was starting to fear what was going to happen next. Sky let a few muffled shrieks as the queen furiously snatched his snout up with sharp, dangerous, claws. Her gaze then met Frost's, and Frost could tell that her mother's eyes were full of pure anger and hatred. "Frost, this is unforgiveable. You are no longer worthy of my throne. Guards, throw both of these traitors into my dungeons! DO NOT LET ME SEE THEM AGAIN!" Queen Fox bellowed, and that was all Frost caught before her vision went pitch black.

 **As we end chapter one, Frost has been captured. How's she going to escape and complete her mission?**


End file.
